Some
Thoughts On Revision of the Death Penalty in Light of
the Case of Stanley (Tookie) Williams
I consider the
execution of Stanley (Tookie) Williams, despite the extenuating
circumstances in his case, to be a horrendous breach of justice and the sending
of a terrible message to the youngsters who he spent years of his life trying
to save.
Perhaps, we might
find some redress for this outrage by formulating a new program of rehabilitation
for those sentenced to death based on his life's work.
I propose that a
mandatory long sentence on death row should definitely be required,
I would say some twenty-five years, of a person sentenced to
death. There would be no "sweetening" of this phase. The entire
term would have to be served. During that period the
prisoner would be required to become a model
prisoner and undertake some kind of service that the
community benefits from. Not everyone has the capability that Tookie had to initiate new programs and write books, but
each would be required, to his or her own ability to
undertake some sort of public service.
Near the end of that period the public would be presented
with the relevant information about the case that a parole
board might, to wit, the community service that the prisoner is rendering, the
prisoner's progress, his or her credits and liabilities in
character, behavior in prison, participation in
rehabilitation and therapy, relations with other
prisoners, expressions of remorse, etc.
The public would vote in a referendum whether or not to
commute the execution to life imprisonment. Again, there would
be no possibility for parole or release from maximum
security prison. The required punishment for murders horrible enough
to require the death penalty cannot be less than a life sentence of
incarceration.
Alternatively, because the
I realize that a referendum like this is more unwieldy
than allowing a parole board to make the decision, but
if we are going to have a more democratic system,
the public must be more directly involved in the decision making process.
The prisoner would be required to continue serving the
community in any way, shape or form that he or she can. Any marked
recidivism on his or her part after the death
sentence was commuted to life in prison would automatically revert
the decision back to a death sentence.
Feedback is respectfully requested.
Doreen
Ellen Bell-Dotan,